Emmanuel Wanyonyi receives global nomination for Rising Star award

World 800m silver medalist Emmanuel Wanyonyi has made World Athletics’ final list of three for the 2023 Men’s Rising Star Award, which will recognise this year's best U20 athlete at the World Athletics Awards 2023.

The nominations reflect some of the standout performances that the sport has witnessed this year, at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, one-day meeting circuits and other events around the world.

The winner of the 2023 Men’s Rising Star Award will be selected by an international panel of experts and be announced on World Athletics’ platforms on 11 December.

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Wanyonyi who rose to the top of the world as an U20 athlete when he won the world U20 800m title in 2021 transitioned to the senior level the following year, making his debut at the world championships in Oregon 2022.

It was, however, in 2023 that his star shone bright, heading to the world championships in Budapest as one of the favourites. He bagged his first individual world medal at the senior level, finishing second behind Canadian Marco Arop.

At the beginning of the year, Wanyonyi had been part of the Kenyan quartet that also had Mirriam Cherop, Daniel Kyumbe Munguti, and Brenda Chebet who avenged Kenya’s defeat from four years ago and regained the mixed relay title at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst.

After his heroics in the cross country, he turned his focus on track, winning the Diamond League title in Rabat, Paris, and Xiamen before carrying the day in the final at the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field.

Wanyonyi is set to battle for the title alongside Roshawn Clarke of Jamaica who placed fourth at the World Championships 400m hurdles. He equaled and then broke the world U20 record with 47.85 in Kingston and 47.34 in Budapest. He is also the Jamaican champion and CARIFTA Games U20 champion.

The third star is American Erriyon Knighton who had a spectacular season, winning World Championships 200m silver after being crowned the US champion in the distance. He won Diamond League races in Florence and Oslo.